Bonnie Jeanne Tinker (She/Her/Hers)

by Z Tsai (They/Them)

Bonnie Jeanne Tinker was born in Boone, Idaho, in 1948. Growing up during the Vietnam War, she watched her family protest against US military involvement. At age 17, she participated in the Tinker v. Des Moines case, which was a landmark Supreme Court ruling that defended her family’s first amendment rights to peacefully protest at school. She quickly learned the power of civil disobedience, and it ignited a spark in her to continue her lifelong dedication to social justice.

After graduating from Grinnell College, she moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1971. There, Tinker and her friends founded the Red Emma Feminist Collective, which functioned as a halfway house for women in crisis. She also came out as a lesbian during this time. In 1975, alongside her partner Sara Graham, Tinker became the founding director of the Prescott House for four years, What began as a free women’s health clinic and eventually became a shelter that housed survivors of domestic violence, the clinic continued running for another 16 years, and was renamed the Bonnie Tinker House in 2009.

Throughout the 1980’s, Tinker held several leadership positions in different movements and organizations. She became the first chairperson of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and fought to combat gender-based violence. She also contributed to the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-founded organization that aided civilian victims of war, as well serving as the director of Volunteers of America, which assisted veterans, recovering addicts, and impoverished families.

One of the most notable achievements of her career was her project created in 1992, titled “Love Makes A Family”, encompassing her organization, radio show, and documentary promoting respect and awareness towards LGBT people and their families. It was made in response to a citizen’s initiative in Oregon that attempted to eradicate anti-discrimination laws that protected queer individuals. During the 90’s, she hosted “Opening Hearts and Minds: Speak Peace” workshops, encouraging non-violent methods of protest in the face of hateful and divisive speech.

A lifelong pacifist, Tinker did not hesitate to organize against the Iraq War when it began in 2003. Tinker and her spouse formed a group named “Seriously Pissed Off Grannies,” which practiced peaceable approaches to their fight, but she was still arrested multiple times for her involvement in political activities.

She was finally able to marry her partner in 2004, when same-sex marriage became briefly legal in Oregon, and though marriage equality would later come to fruition, Tinker did not live to see this victory she had advocated for. Tragically, she passed away in 2009 after being hit by a truck while biking. Tinker was an incredibly righteous woman that believed that activism was a lifelong responsibility. Though her life was cut short, her legacy serves as a reminder that justice is always worth fighting for.